Prairie Wind Palominos - Breeding Program

The focus of our Quarter Horse breeding program is the all-around equine athlete who brings stamina, speed, and a willing attitude to any job. We begin with proven bloodlines in the areas of versatility, physical strength, and beauty. The foundation of our program is the great Skipper W, who, as much as any legendary quarter horse stallion, represents the capacity to reproduce consistent strength, intelligence, and heart. Our current stallion, Desert Skippa, is double linebred Skipper W. Each of our mares brings something unique to our program. In addition to Skipper W, our mares' pedigrees include such AQHA legends as Three Bars, Poco Bueno, Two-Eyed Jack, and Blondys Dude.
Nick Shoemaker 1939-47 Skipper W 1945-63 Bred and raised by renowned horseman Hank Wiescamp, Skipper W was a cornerpost of Hank's quarter horse breeding program in Alamosa, Colorado. Skipper W was a son of Nick Shoemaker, a 15-hand, muscular palomino stallion with a beautiful head, who excelled at calf-roping and siring talented foals. When Nick Shoemaker died unexpectedly at 8-years-old, Hank decided to replace him with one of his sons, Skipper W. Skipper W was not a perfect horse, but Hank judged he would cross as well as Nick Shoemaker had with Hank's band of Plaudit brood mares. Hank said that despite some flaws, the 15.2-hand Skipper W had "the shortest fox ears you've ever seen and a good, long neck" and "a tremendous hip, stifle, and hind leg . . . he was strong where [Hank's mares] were weak." Frank Holmes, The Hank Wiescamp Story 78 (Western Horseman, Inc. 1996). Skipper W turned out to be extremely prepotent in the qualities for which Hank selected him. He consistently outproduced himself, becoming a great sire of award-winning sons and daughters in halter, performance, and racing. Eventually, Skipper W's influence extended to Appaloosas and Paints.

	"Without a shadow of a doubt, Three Bars has had the greatest impact on the Quarter Horse breed of any horse in history . . . [he] forever left his mark in racing, halter, cutting, and other arena performance events." Diane C. Simmons, Legends (I) 54 (Western Horseman, Inc. 1993). Known for his lightning speed, Three Bars turned out to be too fast, too early for Thoroughbred racing's longer distances. But legendary Quarter Horse speed breeder Walter Merrick believed he would make an excellent cross on his Quarter Horse mares. Despite protests from AQHA purists, Merrick leased Three Bars, and before long AQHA Champion racer Lightning Bar was born. Three Bars' other famous progeny include Easy Jet (racing), Impressive (halter), Doc Bar (cutting), and Zan Parr Bar (roping, western pleasure, halter). See more information here: qhd.com/horse/stallion.asp
	Poco Bueno, a son of King P-234, is known first as a cutting horse icon, and second, as a sire of magnificent cutting horse sons and daughters. He wasn't especially glamorous in appearance. He had stocky, old-style conformation with a short tail. He was brown in color, 14.3 H tall, and weighed about 1,150 lbs. But he possessed a wonderful, gentle temperament, and he was a masterful cutting horse. Bred by Jess Hankins and trained at the Waggoner ranch in Vernon, Texas, Poco Bueno is said to have "started the cutting horse business" with his extraordinary agility and incredible speed. Some of Poco Bueno's most famous get are Poco Pine, Poco Tivio, and Poco Lena, one of the most sucessful cutting horse mares in history. Poco Bueno's grand-get, out of Poco Lena, include Doc O Lena and Dry Doc, by Doc Bar. See Poco Bueno's sire/get record here.
	Blondys Dude stands out for his versatility, conformation, and, most of all, his heart. Morgan Freeman bought Dude after watching his natural way with cattle. Dude became an AQHA Champion, earning points in halter, reining, and cutting. The Freeman family treated their champion like a pet, letting him graze in their front yard. One night he escaped into a pen with some mares, shattering his ankle. The vet advised that Dude would have to be put down, but Freeman flew in some specialists who put a 50 pound cast and iron brace on the leg. Freeman described his anguish: "My heart used to go up into my throat every time that horse laid down. He'd stagger back up, losing his balance and then catching it, until he was finally up and stable--shaking and sweating. But he made a full recovery." Dude sired over 1400 registered foals, who amassed over 7000 points. Twenty-five were AQHA champions. *Mike Boardman, et al., Legends Vol. 4* 42-55 (Western Horseman, Inc. 1999)*. Though Two-Eyed Jack is known primarily as a halter horse, he was an accomplished and versatile performance horse as well, winning points in western pleasure, hunter under saddle, reining, western riding, and working cow horse. Classically conformed even as a colt, he brought a willing attitude and excelled at every task he tried. He is considered one of the last, true all-around quarter horses, and he stands at the top of a dynasty of offspring who have dominated every show event. Diane Ciarloni et al., Legends Vol. 3* 164-67 (Western Horseman Inc. 2003). But the achievements of his descendants are not limited to the show arena. Anyone who has owned or ridden a Two-Eyed Jack on trails or round-ups is familiar with the bloodline's characteristic lightness, honesty, and adaptability. For more information about Two-Eyed Jack's record, click here: qhd.com/horse/stallion.asp